Contents

Life and
career

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Early
years

Semler was born in Renmark, South
Australia, Australia. His first work in the production
industry was as a camera operator at a local television station.
Later, he began making documentary and educational films for an
organization called Film Australia. In the mid-1970s, he was
the cinematographer for A Steam Train Passes (1974);
Moving On (1974); and Let the Balloon Go (1976).
In the late 1970s, he was the cinematographer for A Good Thing
Going (1978). His first film was Stepping Out, in
1980. Allmovie praised his “stunning work” on the film
Hoodwink (1981) with a screen play by Ken Quinnell.

1980s

Semler was the cinematographer for Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981).
Semler’s vast panoramic shots of the Australian Outback’s deserts
“...convincingly conveyed a parched, dusty, post-apocalyptic
world”[1] and led
to international attention for his work. Semler also acted as
cinematographer for the follow-up film to Mad Max 2,
Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome (1985). Semler was also a cinematographer for
the acclaimed Australian miniseries Bodyline (1984).[2] In the
late 1980s, Semler was the cinematographer for several popular
films, such as Cocktail (1988) and Young Guns
(1988).

2000s

In the 2000s, Semler was the cinematographer for a range of
movies that included comedies (Nutty Professor II: The
Klumps from 2000, and Bruce Almighty from 2003), action
films (xXx from 2002 and
The Alamo from 2004). In the
mid-2000s, Semler was the cinematographer for the football comedy
The Longest Yard
(2005) and Just My
Luck (2006). In 2006, Semler worked with Mel Gibson again for the
film Apocalypto. Semler's camera work
conveyed the beauty of the lush Mayan jungle setting in
Apocalypto.